Book Tour: Rebel by Callie Hart

I sit down. Arguing with him would be futile. We sit there, side by side, staring off down the arrow-straight road, and for a moment I don’t hate him. He pulls a cell phone out of his pocket and taps something into it, and then he turns to face me, frowning slightly.

“You believe in vengeance?”

“You mean like revenge?”

He shakes his head. “Revenge is a selfish act. Retaliation for something. Vengeance is a different thing altogether. It’s about obtaining justice, usually for someone who can’t claim it for themselves.”

This is an odd line of questioning but I decide I’ll bite. Maybe I wouldn’t if he were being a jerk like he was a couple of hours ago, but that’s not what’s happening. He’s pensive, the live wire that apparently runs through him dulled for the moment. “I don’t know,” I say. “Probably, in that case.”

“What if I simplified the question?

What if I say, do you believe in justice?

“Then, yes, I do believe.”

As a huge fan of the Blood and Roses series, I was beyond
excited that Callie was expanding the B&R world to include Rebel and Alexis’
story. Fans of the series will know the significance of having these two
characters having a series of their own. If you are new to the B&R world, I’d
highly suggest you start with the original series before starting this one as a
significant plot comes from Rebel’s story.

One of the best things about Rebel is that B&R fans are
given the background information as to how Alexis ended up in Rebel’s care. Her
kidnapping by a ruthless cartel after witnessing a murder will leave you as a
reader simply stunned. The intensity of this very first chapter in the book
sets the stage perfectly for the suspenseful action to come as the book and the
series progresses. Hart has written this book so well that you literately feel
every single emotion as Alexis does. Though she goes by an alias throughout the
entire series, you know that she’s trying to protect her real identity to
protect her family from the repercussions of her witnessing the murder.

Rebel was everything that I expected in this novel. He is
brutal when he needs to be, but his morals and presence as a MC President
really took me by surprise. Of course, he’s got black marks upon his soul for
the things he’s had to do, but his intentions for the basis of the club and his
need to protect his family and Alexis are mind-bogglingly. MC men are supposed
to be a this evil, ruthless, moral less man who does what needs to be done for
his club and takes charge in the bedroom. Yet, Rebel has this softness and
soulfulness to him that I find refreshing. His past is unconventional in terms
of the MC life and being able to see just a glimmer of that in this book made
me love him even more as a man and as a character.

This book was honestly the perfect prequel into the new Dead
Man Ink’s series. You aren’t overwhelmed by passionate romance at all, but
instead graced with the necessary knowledge and background you need to have in
order to progress farther into the series. Yes, there is some serious sexual
tension going on within these pages, but you’ll likely have to wait for the
next book in order to seek that passionate thrill ride you might be looking for
after reading the previous series. The cliff hanger ending is subtle enough to
build up a driving desire to know what’s going to happen next and the turn of
events that will play out as the series continues.

EXCERPT

“You think you use your brain when you’re having sex?”

Rebel’s pen freezes on the paper. He turns, then, towering over me, my face level with his belt buckle. It’s as though I can literally feel the heat rolling off his body. He’s intimidating and overwhelming, his presence a powerful force to be reckoned with.

“Oh, Sophia. I use my brain. Every time I sleep with a woman, I’m using my head to figure out what she likes. How she likes it. What I can do to have her screaming my name until her throat’s raw.”

Excerpt

“It’s time for you to tell me your name.” She arches an eyebrow at me. I can just imagine her getting them waxed in some fancy fucking boutique beauty parlor in Seattle, run by Asian hipsters with shaved undercuts and thick glasses. She seems like the type. “Why do you want to know?” she asks, cockiness filling her voice.

“ I’m asking because I need something to call you. And if you don’t tell me your name, I’m going to be forced to call you One Eighty-One. And I’m guessing you won’t like being called One Eighty-One.”

“ Why would you call me that?”

“ Because that’s the reference Hector Ramirez gave you when you uploaded your picture onto his skin site. Hector tags his girls chronologically. The first girl he sold was number one. The fifty-third girl he sold was tagged fifty-three. Using that logic, guess how many girls he sold before he tagged you one eight one?”

“ So a hundred and eighty other women came before me?” She looks like she’s going to throw up.

“Exactly. And he hasn’t been caught. The police haven’t raided his place out there in the desert. No one has reported his website. No one came to rescue the one hundred and eighty other girls who came before you, and no one is coming for you, either. So if you want reminding of that every single time I call you one eight—“

“Sophia!” She screws her eyes shut, clenching her jaw. “My name is fucking Sophia, motherfucker.” She spits out the words like they’re poison. When she looks at me again, I can see the fury burning in the dark depths of her dark brown eyes. She comes alive when she’s angry. A thrill of adrenalin stabs through me, sending mixed signals to my cock; provoking such a violent reaction from her is provoking an entirely different reaction from me. For the first time, I see her. Fucking Sophia. I don’t see her as a means to an end—a potential way to take down the bastard who killed my uncle. I see her. I see her as a woman, and she is beautiful.

“ Alright, Sophia. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Rebel and Sophia's story.

The first of a three part series. This novel contains a small snippet which has already been released in the Owned: An Alpha Anthology, however it is followed by a full story installment.

Sophia

Sometimes, you don't mean to become another person. Sometimes the choice is made for you, and pretending is the only thing that keeps you going. When Alexis Romera is taken and her kidnappers find her fake ID in her purse, she must become Sophia in order to keep her family safe. Revealing her real identity to the man she's sold to would be easy enough, but can she trust him? Hell bent on revenging the murder of his uncle, Rebel doesn't seem all that interested in playing things safe.

In fact, nothing about the secretive, dark and brooding MC president seems safe at all.

Rebel

What do you do when the man who raised you is murdered, and the only witness is kidnapped girl who's being sold as a sex slave? You buy her, of course. As president to the most powerful motorcycle club in America, Rebel isn't lacking in power. There are strings the man can pull, and entire criminal organisations and corporate businesses alike would fall to their knees. However, along with such power comes intense interest. The DEA have their eye fixed solely on the MC...and they're just waiting for Rebel to trip up.

Getting Sophia to testify is the only way to bring the Los Oscuros cartel down. The beautiful, dark haired, dark eyed woman is belligerent and uncooperative and unlikely to bend to his will, but Rebel has a few tricks up his sleeve to make her compliant--he'll charm her until she's bending over backwards to please him.

Of course, falling for her might cause a few hiccups along the way...

About the Author:

Callie has experienced many changes throughout her life, and gone through many ups and downs that have all worked towards shaping and molding her into the person she is today: fun loving, active, social, and hard working. The only thing that has remained a constant throughout her life is writing. Creating characters who will tear your conscience in two is a favorite pastime of Callie’s. There are few real saints and sinners in her books; more often, the denizens of her stories are all very human. Broken, flawed, and always with the potential for redemption.

Despite the subject matter being markedly hot and heavy in comparison to the stories she wrote in elementary school, there will always be an element of fairytale to her work.